Reviews with content warning for Violence - Lover Eternal

Second book in the series, the love i have for Raghe is just so great, i remember how much i loved this book, i've read like 10 times and i'd go again anytime. 10/10

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mrsmishler's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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rachelgreenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was really enjoyable.
I liked the development of Rhage’s relationship to his curse throughout the book. I was once again pleasantly surprised by the author’s portrayal of disability and illness (in this case the FMC’s stuggle with Leukemia). Although she was magically cured at the end, which I have complicated feelings about, I though the portrayal of illness and survivorship was pretty solid.

Occasionally I would feel the tension was getting too… tense, only to have the author present a breakthrough. I also really appreciated Rhage’s emotional expression, especially in response to the FMC being hurtful at times. I feel like too often the FMCs of books like this can be really cruel and the MMCs just tough it out, but Rhage’s responses felt real and accurate.

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booklovinmamas's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve lost count of how many times I have read Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward. I decided to listen to the book this time, and I’m glad I did since Jim Frangione brought the characters to life with his narration. I’m thoroughly enjoying being back in the BDB world from the beginning.

Storyline/My Thoughts: I fell hard for Rhage, aka Hollywood, when I read Lover Eternal in 2009. I’m going to admit I fell for him already in Dark Lover. Each BDB guy holds a special place in my heart. I’m all for the tortured, vulnerable characters; that is precisely what Rhage is in this book. He’s also an unaliver. I love the unhinged characters. He has a reason to be unhinged because he was cursed with a beast from the Scribe Virgin. Even the other BDB warriors fear him when he unleashes that beast.

Rhage is usually the ladies’ man in the BDB until he meets his mate unexpectedly. At first, he scares the poor human woman with his intimidating persona and forefront personality. Mary Luce is a beautiful human woman who takes calls on a helpline and doesn’t know anything about Rhage’s world. She doesn’t have time to really date, especially a man (who she thinks is a man) as beautiful as Rhage. Rhage won’t give up on pursuing Mary Luce and knows she’s dealing with things. Mary ends up in the BDB world due to helping another person that comes into her life, and only BDB can help that individual.

Mary became an instant fave of mine in this series with how strong of a character she is, even when dealing with something life-changing. She wants to continue to live her life, even with dealing with what she is dealing with, and now she has Rhage constantly there, watching over her, especially when she ends up in danger.

She’s a sweet and wonderful woman who is perfect for Rhage because she is the opposite of him. He needs someone like her to accept and help him with his curse. The one curse that he can’t get rid of due to what he did in his past. The only issue with pursuing Mary entirely is that Rhage doesn’t want to hurt her. Rhage may come off as alpha-like and very protective of Mary, but he has a gentler side that comes out with her.

It seems all the BDB mates bring out the gentler side of the scary BDB characters.

One of my favorite parts in Lover Eternal is when Rhage does take Mary on a date. Can you imagine one of the BDB characters being at a regular restaurant? A very intimidating, sexy male character dining with a petite Mary Luce. He only has eyes for Mary, too, which makes him very swoon-worthy.

If you’re thinking about reading the BDB series, then read this series in order. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on other POVs that come to play in the books that give hints about the upcoming books. You even get previous characters’ POVs, too. I enjoy this series by J.R. Ward because she never leaves us hanging on what is happening with ALL the characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love the main characters getting their stories, but I need to know what is happening with the other characters, too.

Readers that love the tortured, a-hole characters will have Zsadist’s POV in Rhage and Mary’s book. He’s another intimidating BDB character, but he will meet his match with his mate in his book next in the series.

I give Lover Eternal five stars and wish to give it more, especially since J.R. Ward tore at my heart with this book regarding Rhage’s and Mary’s ending. These two would do anything for each other, and that ending proved it.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and I recommend reading in order.

Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶

Genre(s)/Trope(s)/Element(s): Paranormal Romance. Fated Mates. Instant Love/Attraction. MMC Fell First. Opposite’s Attract. Touch Her and I’ll Unalive You. Alpha MMC. Sweet/Innocent FMC. FMC is sick/ill. Cursed MMC.

Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. I recommend this series to Paranormal Romance readers who love a series that is never-ending at this point. You’ll get badass warriors and their mates that can only tame them. Be prepared to become addicted to this fictional PNR Vampire world that J.R. Ward wrote for her readers.

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roussette31's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Again, this was fun to read, and more emotional than I thought it would be. I liked Rage but felt like we did not get to see his side as much as I would have wished. Also, I hope we get to see more glimpses of Marissa and Butch’s story in the next few books.

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moodreadererin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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allingoodtime's review

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I did not want to put this book down. I liked the first book in this series, but I loved this book. Yes, there are still issues with some of the language and references due to when it was written. You have to know that going in and have to be able to see beyond that or you will not enjoy this story. It may have some problematic language, but it is very obvious that many authors were inspired by these stories.

There was a lot I adored about this book, so I’m actually going to start with what I didn’t like so much. These stories are told from multiple POVs, not just the main couple’s. For the most part, I have enjoyed that. In the first book, I even appreciated the POV of the enemy, the lessers. In this story, I found that every time it switched to the POV of any of the lessers. Even though I found their story to be somewhat important and am sure it will be very important as this series progresses, it just brought the story down for me.

When it comes to the romance between Mary and Rhage, I couldn’t get enough. Their chemistry, their fears, their magnetism, all of it was amazing. Rhage, the guy with a beast even his brothers are terrified of inside of him, is so gentle and tender with Mary. As their bond grows and he, in fact, bonds with her in a more official way, he is beyond romantic. Unfortunately, because he is ashamed of his beast and doesn’t want to scare Mary away, she is confused by a lot of his actions and reactions. It seems to me that Mary’s cancer is the perfect metaphor for Rhage’s beast. For a long time, she wouldn’t agree with that last sentence. But Mary watched her mom waste away and die, she’s already been through one cancer batter and knows how ugly and depressing it can be, and she doesn’t want to subject anyone to her troubles. It takes her a while to open her eyes to what real love is and that she is actually being selfish by trying to keep Rhage at a distance.

The world-building in this story is great, not overshadowing the interpersonal relationships while also adding depth to the vampire/brotherhood part of this world. The friendships and bonds were also deepened and this group felt much more like a family in this book. There are a couple of characters that are introduced through Mary and they are phenomenal new additions. I have a feeling Bella and Zsadist are going to give Mary and Rhage a run for their money in the romance department. And John Matthew will be so interesting to watch grow and become a warrior.

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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